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A series of events will take place in autumn in Wales celebrating the longstanding relations between Wales and Estonia, and their shared heritage of expressing national identity through the arts. The cultural ties between Wales and Estonia began over a decade ago when the Vale of Glamorgan Festival featured Estonia’s most renowned musicians. The Welsh First Minister, Rt. Hon. Rhodri Morgan also attended Wales Day in Estonia in 2003.

The Right Honourable Rhodri Morgan AM, First Minister for Wales:

"The WALESTONIA Festival brings together two small but proud countries who enjoy celebrating their distinctive national cultures and who therefore can understand each other in a way other bigger countries cannot. We welcome the fact that Estonia chooses to mark its 90th anniversary as a republic with celebrations in Wales. As First Minister I have had the pleasure of visiting Estonia and in welcoming a number of its senior political leaders to Wales."

 

 

Sir Roger Jones, the Honorary Consul of Estonia in Wales:

„The WALESTONIA FESTIVAL is a most important event for the people of Wales. We share so much history with the newly emerging Estonia. Our ambitions match this. The Estonian language, music, work ethic reflect so much of our vision for Wales. Culture matters. Culture defines a nation. Culture festivals are a reference point that enables us to understand. We cannot possibly know where we are going without understanding where we are, and where we come from.“

Mr Huw Tregelles Williams, the Chairman of Swansea’s Festival of Music and the Arts:

„Swansea Festival of Music & the Arts, the longest-established in Wales, is delighted to welcome the Estonian National Male Choir and Estonian National Ballet on the occasion of the Festival's 60th anniversary and the 90th anniversary of the Republic of Estonia. Our two young nations, both with rich traditions of male choral singing, come together in a joint concert with the Pontarddulais Male Choir, Wales' leading male choir, at the Brangwyn Hall, Swansea on October 13. Two days later, at the same venue, the Estonian National Male Choir take centre-stage in a concert with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales which will be broadcast live throughout the UK on BBC Radio 3.The programme includes Stravinsky's Oedipus Rex a work in which the Choir is internationally renowned. The Estonian National Ballet will present Hamlet at Taliesin Arts Centre on October 9. Other visitors to this year's Festival include the London Symphony and Moscow Philharmonic Orchestras. The Festival greatly appreciates the contribution to travel costs by the Estonian Government which has made this exciting visit possible, and which augurs well for continuing cultural dialogue and co-operation between Wales and Estonia.“

Mr John Metcalf, the Artistic Director of the Vale of Glamorgan Music Festival:

“On my first visit to Estonia in November 2005 it was soon clear that were real parallels with Wales and fruitful opportunities for artistic collaboration between the two countries. At the subsequent Vale of Glamorgan Festival concert in September 2006 by the BBC National Orchestra and Estonian Philharmonic Choir, the audience rose to their feet for several minutes of spontaneous and sustained applause. In the intervening years that relationship has deepened, so it is especially appreciated in Wales that in Estonia's anniversary year there should be a festival linking our two countries."“

Mr Peter Reynolds, Composer and Festival Director

"One of the highlights of the new music calendar is the Estonian Music Days. Tallinn itself is an excellent centre for such a festival, with a wide variety of different venues and halls, all within easy walking distance within the exquisite old medieval town. The concentration is almost exclusively on Estonian music and audiences are large and enthusiastic. What comes through strongly from the Festival is that Estonian music has tremendous energy and vitality at the present time."

Ms Eluned Haf, Director of Wales Arts International

"Our collaboration with Estonia has been fruitful for several artisits in Wales. Recently, two of our leading visual artists, Peter Finnimore and Paul Granjon, exhibited alongside Estonian artists at the Tallinn Art Hall; following a visit to Wales by curator Johannes Saar, organised by Wales Arts International. This year we are delighted to support artists Kai Kaljo, Margot Kask, Orest Kormazov, Tiiu Kirsipuu and Sofi Arshas from Estonia, who will collaborate with artists Tom Gilhespy, Ruth Carter, Nick Lloyd and Cordelia Weedon from Wales, which will culminate at an exhibition at the Llanfyllin Workhouse from the 9th to the 16th of August 2008. Wales Arts International is delighted to support the Walestonia Festival. As small nations, Wales and Estonia have a lot to share culturally and the arts in both countries can grow through this cross-cultural initiative"

Ms Sybil Crouch, Head of Cultural Services at the Taliesin Arts Centre:

“We are delighted to welcome the Estonian National Opera’s ballet group to perform at Taliesin as part of the Swansea Festival. I was fortunate enough to visit Tallinn for the Uustants Festival of dance last year and was impressed with the choreographic work of Oksana Titova. When I discovered that she is a dancer with the Opera’s ballet company & had choreographed a new work for them I felt that this was something we could perhaps bring to Taliesin as part of our ongoing commitment to bring the best of international dance to Swansea. We are talking to other creative artists from Estonia and I hope this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship!”

Dr Tom Gilhespy, Sculptor, Organiser of Interventions 2008:

„I am genuinely looking forward to the ‘Interventions’ project and working together with the Estonian artists at the Llanfyllin Workhouse. The ambitious attempt to restore the building and set up an arts and community centre is still in its infancy, but this project will focus attention on its potential. I would like to thank the Estonians for their support. I was lucky to be working for three months in Latvia in 1988 and able to travel in the Baltic States. It was an historic time and I even attended some of the political meetings that took place at that time. I made Estonian friends and travelled to Tallinn without a Soviet visa (feeling very conspicuous) and met and talked to artists at the Sculpture Department of the Academy of Arts. I am in a position to compare the grey depressed city of that time, with the vibrant and confident city of today. I am still in contact with the artists I met then and witnessed their development on the international stage when the restriction on their practice and travel. Since then I have been fortunate to visit and work in Estonia many times and many Estonia Artists have come to work and exhibit in Mid Wales. It has been a fruitful exchange, which I hope will continue in this project at the Workhouse and in the years to come.“

Dr Robin Gwyndaf, Curator of Folklore at St Fagans: National History Museum

„To all the Estonian people – the singing nation – we from Wales, another small nation, give our sincere greetings on the occasion of the 90th anniversary of Estonia. May the song long continue...“